


By Any Other Name

by bladehuntress



Series: Burn Cream For Cats [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blanket Permission, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Zuko, Zuko calls themselves Spirit, based on Muffinlance, herbalist!Zuko, since it has a more neutral POV, they finally get around to using those mad plant skills though!, they're less obviously cat-like in this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:01:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24044818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bladehuntress/pseuds/bladehuntress
Summary: The Earth Kingdom farmers called it cowbane.The Fire Lord won’t have time to call it anything.(Or: A poison by any other name would still kill. A royal by any other name would still remember the palace layout. And a healer by any other name isn't really a healer at all.)
Relationships: Toph Beifong & Zuko
Series: Burn Cream For Cats [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1731832
Comments: 48
Kudos: 1337
Collections: Finished111





	By Any Other Name

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MuffinLance](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MuffinLance/gifts).



> Looks like we're turning this into a series, folks!
> 
> Spirit's less obviously cat-like in this once, as I made the narrator more neutral, but it's still there if you look close enough. It's also more dialogue-driven, and that's not my strong point — really it was an excuse to practise dialogue — so please bear with me.

“So,” Toph raised one eyebrow. “What’s the plan?”

Spirit grimaced, shaking their head. “I suppose there’s no use trying to hide anything from you?”

Toph smirked. “Nah.” Elbowing them in the ribs, she added. “Not when I can sense that we’re headed directly for the throne room. Well, what I _assume_ is the throne room. If you wanted to sneak around by yourself, why’d you suggest going in pairs?”

They shrugged, making the gesture obvious enough that Toph would be able to feel it. “It’s more believable this way. You're my alibi.” 

“I _knew_ it.” It was the lie that had piqued Toph’s curiosity in the first place: Spirit had a nasty habit of speaking in half-truths, so hearing them lie outright — and in front of _her_ — had been more than enough incentive for Toph to agree to pair up with them. 

Spirit’s mouth curved into a reluctant smile. “You can always tell when I’m up to something, can’t you?” 

“You’re lucky you’re interesting.” Toph waved a hand dismissively. “Besides, if they really believe you’ve forgotten the layout of your childhood home, that’s on them.” 

Spirit let out a long breath, weighing their options. “Yes,” they said eventually. “The throne room.” They reached into a hidden pocket in their shirt, and pulled out a pouch, which they dropped into Toph’s waiting hand. “This is what I was grinding up this morning.” 

“This is the one you wouldn’t let me touch,” Toph frowned. “Water hemlock? Then why are we going to the throne room?” 

“Their quarters will be too heavily guarded, and there’ll be people in the kitchens.” They caught Toph’s hand, tugging them to the edge of the hallway, where they pulled a tapestry aside and blew fire onto the wall, revealing a hidden door. “This way's best. We want to go unnoticed for as long as possible. Besides, putting it in food or water risks killing innocents.” Their voice filled with malice. “With _this_ method, only the Fire Lord and Azula will be harmed.” 

Toph paused. “You mean there’s another way to poison people?” 

“This is why I’m the herbalist, and you’re the earthbender!” Spirit grinned at Toph, who scowled, then rolled their eyes at her reaction. “Come on. You _know_ normal earthbenders lack subtlety. And you know _I_ know you’re not a normal earthbender.” Their shoulders dropped as their tone turned sober. “Anyway, only a few poisons can work through skin contact; I’m pretty sure the Fire Nation healers haven’t seen water hemlock before, but I don’t exactly want to risk it.” They neatly caught the pouch as Toph tossed it back to them, looking significantly paler. “Why’d you _think_ I never let you touch it?” 

“It can kill so easily?” 

“No,” Spirit tied the pouch back onto their belt. “It’s less potent through skin, but it’s still pretty nasty if you touch it. The only reason _I_ can is because I’ve been handling it for so long that my body’s stopped reacting to it. Like smallpox,” they elaborated, tilting their head thoughtfully, “but the immunity comes over a much longer period of time, from the constant exposure.” 

Nodding her understanding, Toph fell silent, working through the new information in her head, looking for the hidden meanings. Her parents may have kept her from the public eye, but she’d been raised in the knowledge that she’d have to deal with politicians one day, and Spirit could double-speak even better than _Azula_ could _lie_. “So you want to get it in the body, and there’s another way to do it,” she concluded. “You prepared it by grinding it into a fine powder. You have a way to make them _inhale_ it.” 

“Exactly.” Spirit’s lips curved into a venomous smile, letting their breath hiss out between their teeth so that Toph could hear it as they opened another fire-door and the pair emerged into the throne room. 

Toph’s face twisted into a curious mixture of approval and disappointment, and she felt Spirit shift their weight to give her a questioning look. “It’s huge,” she groaned, then winced at the echo. “But it’s so _empty_. What’s the point in having so much space if you aren’t even going to use it?” 

Spirit laughed quietly. “Intimidation, I suppose.” They unwrapped two lengths of fabric from around their wrists. They tied one over their mouth and nose, then wound their long plait up into a bundle at the nape of their neck and secured it with the other, covering all of their head save for their eyes. As much as they’d hated asking Katara to undo the intricate hairdo they’d spent the last week working on, they’d both agreed that it would be impractical on the battlefield and taken out the meticulous braids, opting for something much simpler for the day. 

They _had_ , however, had to reassure their fellow healer that there would be many more opportunities for elaborate styles once they were Fire Lord, and that they’d keep wearing their Water Tribe beads as well as the more traditional royal hair ornaments. 

“Could do with a few more statues, if you ask me. Nothing says intimidation like a statue with your face on it.” Toph could feel the heat from fires she couldn’t sense on her face. “What are we doing?” 

“Can you stand guard?” Spirit said. Toph shrugged, moving to back to stand by the hidden door. She’d have offered to do this anyway – she knew there was no way she could help lay the poison when she risked poisoning _herself_. 

Spirit stepped up to the throne, their hard-soled boots quieter than a whisper against the polished floor. Reaching into their pouch, they spread a fine layer of the powder over every surface, careful not to let the dust touch their clothes. Once it was evenly coated, they crouched to repeat the process on a patch of stone in front of the throne, which Toph noted with interest was more worn than the rest of the floor, then sat back to dust off their palms. 

Suddenly, they inhaled sharply and stood, eyes trained on the ceiling. “The sun’s back.” Striding over to the braziers beside their friend, they enveloped their hands in flame, burning off what was left on their hands, then untied their mask and hair, letting them drop into the fire. They watched just long enough to ensure that they would burn properly before turning to Toph, voice deceptively calm. “Let’s get out of here.” 

“That was... easy,” Toph commented as Spirit sealed the secret door behind them. Honestly, she’d expected something a bit more complicated than that. “But why the floor?” 

Spirit narrowed their eyes, a taunting tone creeping into their voice. “I thought you were good at reading people?” 

Exasperated, Toph threw her hands into the air, then tapped her cheek thoughtfully as she considered the question. Normally, she’d snap at someone who goaded her, especially since she was the _only_ one Spirit goaded, but she had to admit that it was kind of nice to have someone who’d insist she figured out the answers by herself without being patronising about it. “Ozai will sit on the throne. Spreading it on so many surfaces means that when he sits, he’ll dislodge it, and breathe it in when it falls. Failing that, you ensured he’ll at _least_ get it on his hands and robes.” 

“That doesn’t answer your question.” Spirit remarked, but nodded anyway. 

“I’m getting there! The floor…” Toph smirked. “That’s where people kneel in front of their ruler. And Azula will be the first person there when they get back.” 

Spirit opened the door back into the hallway and pulled the tapestry aside, stepping softly onto the tiles. “How far away are Sokka and Aang?” they asked, and Toph cackled, knowing the blatant subject change was Spirit’s way of confirming her deduction. 

“Only about half the palace away. _Actually,_ they just got done fighting Azula!” Toph grinned widely, and allowed herself to be dragged into the new conversation by Spirit’s frantic _“They what!”_ , and breathed a mental sigh of relief. 

Later, as her friends lament the failure of the invasion, she shares a secret smug glance with Spirit, confident in the knowledge that the end of the week would mean the end of the war. 

_Yeah,_ she thinks. _Spirit's gonna make a_ great _Fire Lord._

**Author's Note:**

> Again, I'm not nonbinary, so any and all advice and/or corrections on my characterisation would be much appreciated.


End file.
